Do you really want to go to heaven? Really?
Or are you hoping Jesus won’t come back for a while? After all, there are things you want to do, experiences you want to enjoy, challenges you want to win, places you want to see.
This world, with all its problems and opportunities, is so real. And heaven seems so, well, unreal.
If you’re dying of Ebola in Liberia, you probably want to go to heaven. If you’re six-year-old Jenny running from her crazed father (remember Forrest Gump?), you want to go to heaven. If you’re sick and tired and old and sad, you may well want to go to heaven.
But for many of the rest of us, even those who believe in heaven, we may not really be that sure we’d be happier in heaven than we are here. Intellectually we may say we believe heaven will be happy. But when it comes right down to it, do you sometimes feel like you would miss a lot if you went to heaven right now?
Even the Apostle Paul struggled a little with weather he wanted to go to heaven or stay here and do more of what God had given him to do: “If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.” (Phil. 1:22-24)
It’s human nature to prefer a difficult known to even a hopefully perfect unknown. But as Corrie ten Boom said, “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God!”
To help put some “skin” on the future God has prepared for those who love Him, here are some things we can be certain of about heaven:
- If you’re tired, heaven will mean perfect rest, refreshment, and renewal.
- If you’re sick, heaven will mean perfect health and wellbeing.
- If you’re poor, heaven will mean provision for anything you could ever need or desire.
- If you’re lonely, heaven will mean love, intimacy, and companionship forever.
- If you’re disappointed, heaven will mean the fulfillment of every desire you could think of.
- If you’re frustrated, heaven will mean no roadblocks to accomplishing everything you’ve been made for.
- If you’re bored, heaven will mean no end to excitement and opportunities to explore and do.
- If you’re anxious, heaven will mean perfect peace and joy.
- If you’re confused, heaven will mean a complete answer to every question, even the “why” questions.
- If you feel guilty, heaven will mean your past is truly forever behind you.
- If you feel abused or oppressed, heaven will mean perfect and complete freedom and vindication.
- If you feel your skills are unused, heaven will mean the opportunity to employ your whole being in helping God govern the universe.
- If you feel limited creatively, heaven will mean endless freedom and capacity to create – individually and with others.
- If you feel your time is too short, heaven will mean an eternity to experience, love, and enjoy.
- If you want to know more, heaven will mean the knowledge and wisdom of the universe is available to you, for infinity.
- If you feel empty, heaven will mean complete satisfaction.
- If you’re happy, heaven will mean exponential multiplication of your joy.
- If you have love to give away, heaven will mean your love is received, valued, cherished – and returned.
Oh, how little we really have in this life when we contemplate how much yet awaits. Whatever amount of God’s good things we can experience in this life – and we can experience many! – it’s only a taste of what is yet to come.
And these words cannot even begin to express all that God has waiting for you.
Yes, the best of all will be seeing our Savior, Jesus, and being with God Himself.
One thing we know for sure: when we get to heaven we won’t be disappointed. But I hope contemplating heaven in this way helps make you even more homesick!
Your Turn: How badly do you want to go to heaven? What are you looking forward to there? Leave a comment below.
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- Putting some “skin” on our picture of heaven increases our desire to go there. Tweet that.
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